Friday, March 1, 2024

Phao Ra and King Mose



Summary of the hypothesis presented in the book "Phao Ra and King Mose" - Mohammad Hasan Algarhy

·         King Phao Ra was a West Asian who controlled a part of Northern Egypt in the Delta region toward the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty (c. 1725 – 1650 BC). He is likely to be the biblical pharaoh.

·         King Phao Ra was from the same political alliance of the West Asians who immigrated to Ancient Egypt in huge groups. This political alliance included the Canaanites. The Israelites (B'nei Yisrael) were likely one group or tribe of those Canaanites.

·         Political tension arose between King Phao Ra and his old allies mainly the Israelites (B'nei Yisrael), and he started a campaign of oppression against them.

·         A man named Mose/Msw/Messu started a new movement preaching ideological teachings challenging King Phao Ra. Several groups (not limited to the Israelites) followed him. The Israelites (B'nei Yisrael) found a great opportunity in him to gain some political strength against King Phao Ra.

·         The Israelites (B'nei Yisrael) together with the other groups following Mose/Msw/Messu did achieve victories against King Phao Ra under Mose`s leadership, who then managed a part of Ancient Egypt and reigned for a short time about seven years (c. 1588-1582 BC).

·         During that time c.1550 BC another West Asian alliance (The Hyksos) controlled wider parts of Ancient Egypt. Dedu Mose tried to sue them for peace and might have succeeded in living in peace simultaneously with them for some time.

·         A few years later came the native Ancient Egyptian King Ahmose I who was the founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty (c. 1550-1292 BC) and completed the conquest and expulsion of the Hyksos from the Nile Delta.

·         It became a priority for the eighteenth, nineteenth, and later dynasties to face the threat of the West Asian groups and prevent them from controlling any parts of Ancient Egypt again.

·         Then came King Ramesses II who reigned (c. 1303 BC – 1213 BC), and whose name is Ra Mose II and not Ramesses II. He decided to expel any foreign threats from Egypt. His campaign was not specifically on the Israelites (B'nei Yisrael), it was against any foreign threat on Egyptian soil in general.

·         Until King Ra Mose II we do not have archeological evidence that the Israelites (B'nei Yisrael), were called or known by that name.

·         The first and only archeological evidence from Ancient Egypt that potentially refers to the Israelites (B'nei Yisrael) under that name comes from the reign of the successor of King Ra Mose II. It is the Merneptah Stele. King Merneptah was the successor of Ra Mose II in the Nineteenth Dynasty. He reigned from 1213 to 1203 BC. He followed the West Asian groups including potentially the Israelites (B'nei Yisrael) to the land of Canaan to remove the seeds of the threat.

·         The Triumphal Relief of Shoshenq I (c. 943-922 BC) of the Twenty-second Dynasty refers to the names of thirteen groups and locations in the land of Canaan that were conquered by King Shoshenq I. This list does not mention the Israelites (B'nei Yisrael) or Ysrỉꜣr, which has few significant indications:

o   The land of Canaan still had the same political landscape characterized by city-states or tribe-states with no central or federal authority.

o   There was no group called the Israelites (B'nei Yisrael) or Ysrỉꜣr on the Canaan land during that time. (The time of Shoshenq I c. 943-922 BC).

o   Despite that some of the names mentioned on the Triumphal Relief of Shoshenq I have similarities with some of the names of some of the locations and tribes mentioned in the bible that does not confirm that these groups are the Israelites (B'nei Yisrael). They are Canaanite tribes and city-states.

o   The Israelites (B'nei Yisrael) or Ysrỉꜣr tribe-state probably lasted for a short time during King Merneptah's reign c. 1213 to 1203 BC, and then it was conquered and disappeared from any archeological evidence.

o   The Triumphal Relief of Shoshenq I does not mention any Solomon's temple or David`s city despite that it does mention many other locations on that relatively small piece of land. 

The historical and archeological evidence suggests the following regarding the biblical story of the Pharaoh, Moses, and the Exodus:

Biblical story

Anticipated Historical events

There was an Ancient Egyptian King named or entitled Phar aoh.

There was a West Asian King who controlled parts of Northern Ancient Egypt toward the end of the 14th dynasty. His name was Phao Ra.

There is no consensus on the chronology of the biblical events. Some scholars suggested 1391–1271 BC; others suggestions mentioned 1592 BC, or 1571 BC as Mose`s birth year.

The story of King Phao Ra and Dedu- Mose/Msw/Messu happened during the 14th-16th  Dynasties. c. 1650-1582 BC.

The Exodus biblical story refers to the Israelites' enslavement and the Ten Plagues.

King Phao Ra likely started a campaign of oppression against his old political allies and new opponents the Israelites (B'nei Yisrael).

There were likely famines and plagues towards the end of the 13th and 14th dynasties in Ancient Egypt.

The Exodus biblical story refers to the departure of the Israelites from Ancient Egypt during the Pharoah's reign.

There was no departure for the West Asian groups including potentially the Israelites during King Phao Ra`s reign. It is likely that Dedu-Mose I and his followers achieved some victories over Phao Ra and lived in some parts of Ancient Egypt simultaneously with the Hyksos.

Some suggest that King Ramesses II  was the Pharoah of the Exodus.

His name was Ra Mose II. Historical and archeological evidence does not support this hypothesis. King Ra Mose II might have expelled some West Asian groups that were considered a threat to national security, but this is not to be confused with the events that happened c. 350 years earlier during the reign of King Phao Ra.

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